With the rising capability and flexibility of modern-day computer systems, there are increasing trends toward automation of tedious and routine functions in the handling of large volumes of data, and especially with the volumes of data engendered in the work of financial institutions, for example, whereby thousands of documents such as checks, deposit slips, remittance information forms, etc., must be checked, sorted, corrected, totalized and returned to the banks or financial institutions where they originated.
Thus, many financial and banking institutions maintain large staffs of people who facilitate the standard document processing procedures which require that all actual items be physically handled, reviewed and distributed to some other destination in addition to having made records of each of the individual transactions so that checking statements can be made for customers and also financial data and balances recorded for the operations of the banking or other financial institutions. Thus, much administrative overhead and handling is involved in these processes where various operators and administrative personnel must handle large volumes of individual documents which must be locatable and readable, and, in the case of checks, must be imprinted upon with the standard MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition) codes.
The present disclosure involves a sophisticated image and item processing system which provides for greater efficiencies in the handling of large volumes of documents and information. Thus, instead of dealing with the actual documents for processing operations, the system operators and administrative personnel, in facilities of these banking or financial institutions, can use imaging systems which store images of the applicable documents. The operators can view the image data on image workstations and thus reduce the requirements for handling paper documents.
Thus, by working from document images on an image workstation, the operator is able to spend much less time and effort searching through stacks of paper and to devote more time for the processing of documents. The use of electronic images, instead of manual handling of physical documents, provides a new way of performing document processing functions.
A schematic overview of the general system for image and item processing is shown in FIG. 1A. The image and item processing system is composed of a number of modules which intercooperate to provide the required functions in the processing of documents in high volume and at high speed. These items include the high-speed document processor 8 and imaging module 8i, the Storage and Retrieval Module (SRM) 10, the image workstations 12, the image printer workstations 14, the encoding document processor 2, and the host computer system 6.
The system uses imaging technology to capture and process images of documents for item processing. Document images are stored and retrieved so that operators may perform various of the required activities when using the document image. These various types of activities are enabled by the application software being used.
In the operations of FIG. 1A, for example, financial institutions use the image and item processing system to electronically capture images of financial documents as they pass along the transport track in the document processor 8. After the images are captured, they are converted to digital data. The digital data is then sent to a disk storage device where it is later retrieved for display at the various image workstations. Operators may then perform data entry activities on the document image retrieved. Thus, institutions which handle large volumes of documents, such as banks and other financial institutions, may reduce the time and steps required to process a large volume of documents.
The document processor 8 is a high-speed, fast-sorting machine. It reads the magnetic ink character recognition code line (MICR) on documents as they flow through the transport and endorses them with the financial institution's endorsement. Further, it microfilms the documents as they pass the microfilmer and then uses previously programmed instructions to complete the customer sorting requirements by sending each document to a particular and appropriate pocket. The high-speed document processor 8 serves as an image capture site. Documents pass through the imaging module 8i, FIG. 1B where images are lifted from the documents at real-time sorter speed. The imaging module 8i, FIG. 1B digitizes, processes, and compresses the captured images. The resulting data is sent to the Storage and Retrieval Module 10 in FIG. 1A.
The host computer 6 is connected to the document processor 8 through an interface which enables the document processor to receive the sorting parameters from the host 6 that will determine how it should sort the documents. The documents are read, endorsed, microfilmed, imaged, and sorted according to these parameters. After a first pass, the document processor 8 sends the acquired document code line data to the host. The host 6 is a mainframe computer which manages the entire system and stores all master data files except the image files.
The Imaging Module 8i is housed in the document processor 8 and provides the imaging capability for the system. It captures front and back images of documents and converts the image data to digital form. The Imaging Module 8i then combines the image and document data into image packets for transfer to the Storage and Retrieval Module 10.
The Storage and Retrieval Module (SRM) 10, which is the subject of this application, stores the image packets until an image workstation 12 or print workstation 14 requests them for display or printing. The SRM transfers the image packet over a network to the workstations. Additionally, the SRM 10 receives modified document data from the image workstations (after the operators have performed data entry activities) and then sends it to the host 6.
The Image Workstation 12, of which there may be multiple numbers available, is the primary user interface for the system. It generally will have a high-resolution, 15-inch, monochrome, gray-scale monitor window with a high-performance data entry keyboard and an optional alpha/numeric keyboard. Thus image data is sent from the SRM and a high-resolution image can be made to appear on the monitor window. These image workstations can be located in a typical, quiet office environment rather than immediately in the computer room in order to provide a comfortable work place.
The main input device from operator to the workstation 12 is the data entry keyboard which is designed to facilitate image manipulation and high-speed data entry. Thus, an operator can zoom, pan, flip, or rotate a document image with one simple keystroke.
The communications processor 4B (FIG. 1A) facilitates communication between the host 6, the SRM 10, and the encoding document processors 2 of FIG. 1A.
The encoding document processors 2 are used for certain specific applications such as the re-entry of rejected documents and items and also for "power encoding" which is a process which automatically encodes items passing through a document processor with data previously entered by operators at their image workstations 12. These document processors 2 will pass document data through the communications processor 4B over to the host 6. When doing the power encoding function, the encoding document processor 2 (in one embodiment) is capable of encoding 3,800 documents per hour. Thus, when operators place groups of documents into the automatic feeder on the encoding document processor 2, the documents automatically move into the transport track, which then takes them past the MICR reader and the encoder module and then out into the various sorted pocket modules. The encoder module prints the MICR or Optical Character Read (OCR) characters onto the items as they flow through the transport. The typical operation is that the documents will be encoded with certain numerical amounts such as dollars and cents.
The print workstation 14 of FIG. 1A uses a type of image printer which involves a 300-dot-per-inch, non-impact laser printer that can print on standard 81/2-inch.times.11-inch paper in order to provide hard copy of images or data items or text.
As a result of this cooperative hardware in the image and item processing system, there is enabled a setup of increased productivity, there is increased speed of operations because of the image-based processing capability, and there is an increased operator efficiency since there is no need to physically handle paper documents which can be called up on the image workstations. Further, there is a "flexibility" possible through modular configuration and by the addition of other modular units to increase capacity and with the provision of a quiet work environment through individual workstations such that the quality of the operator's work life eliminates fatiguing operations and improves operating efficiencies.